A weekly summary of news from the syndicated newspaper/web column, The Canadian Report, by Jim Fox.

Welcome

Greetings to thousands of readers the past month from the United States and Canada, as well as the United Kingdom, Russia, India, Germany, France, Japan and Latvia.

Total Pageviews

Friday, December 9, 2016

Prime Minister remarks about Castro called "shameful"

Canada column for Sunday, Dec. 4/16

THE CANADIAN REPORT

(c) By Jim Fox

Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau’s comments that former Cuban president Fidel Castro was a
“legendary revolutionary and orator,” have been widely condemned.

Trudeau recently returned
from a diplomatic visit to Cuba and was commenting on the death of Castro by
expressing his “deep sorrow.”

While being a
“controversial figure,” Trudeau said he is remembered as a “larger-than-life
leader” who made significant improvements to Cuba’s education and health-care
systems.

He referred to his
father, the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, as having a close relationship
and was “very proud to call him (Castro) a friend.”

Criticism even came
from Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American senator for Florida, who asked on Twitter,
“Is this a real statement or a parody? Because if this is a real statement from
the PM of Canada, it is shameful (and) embarrassing.”

Conservative
leadership candidate Lisa Raitt said Trudeau should be ashamed for the remarks
that have “placed himself on the wrong side of history – against the millions
of Cubans yearning for freedom.”

The Cuban dictator
was a pallbearer at Pierre Trudeau’s funeral in 2000 along with former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter.

---

Climate change activists are upset over Prime
Minister Trudeau’s approval of two oil pipeline expansions, including the
controversial Trans Mountain line through suburban Vancouver.

The Liberal
government aims to boost Canada’s resource economy and the Kinder Morgan plan
will triple the capacity of its line from Alberta to British Columbia.

Also approved was
Enbridge’s replacement of an old pipeline from Alberta to Wisconsin.

The approved
projects will result in 1 million more barrels of oil a day from Alberta’s oil
sands for global markets.

- Canada’s national
jobless rate dropped to 6.8 percent last month as the economy added another
10,700 jobs. Statistics Canada said over the past year Canada has gained
183,200 jobs overall as full-time work fell by 30,500 positions and part-timers
grew by 213,700 jobs. Lowest jobless rates were 6.1 percent in British
Columbia, 6.2 in Quebec and 6.3 in Ontario while Alberta was 9, Prince Edward
Island, 10.8 and Newfoundland and Labrador, the highest at 14.3 percent.

- Much of Canada’s
farm crops will go unharvested unless there is an improved migrant work
program, the Conference Board of Canada warns. The board study said labor
shortages are growing as migrant workers account for only 12 percent of the
agricultural workforce. The Canadian government is expected to make a policy
announcement soon to revamp its temporary foreign workers program.

---

Facts and figures:

Canada’s dollar has advanced to 75.24 cents
U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.329 Canadian, before exchange fees, as
oil prices have increased.

The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate remains at 0.5 percent while the prime-lending rate is 2.7
percent.

Stock markets are mixed,
with the Toronto exchange index down at 15,065 points while the TSX Venture
index is up at 748 points.

The average price for
gas in Canada is $1.02 a liter or $3.87 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.

- The Toronto-area
real estate market continues its hot streak with a shortage of property
listings pushing the average price for a detached house to $1.35 million, up
32.3 percent from a year ago. In the suburbs, the price climbed by 25.5 percent
to an average of $957,517. The Toronto Real Estate Board said sales of 8,547 properties
were up 16.5 percent with an average selling price for all types of housing at
$776,684.

- Thousands of
customers lost their power in Atlantic Canada as the region was hammered by a midweek
pre-winter snowfall and strong winds. Hardest hit was New Brunswick with 10,000
power outages that closed schools and offices and resulted in transit buses
being pulled from service in Fredericton. Snowfall amounts reached about 11
inches in the region and into southwestern Newfoundland.